While there are no new Lord of the Rings movies in the works, fans of J.R.R. Tolkien may be happy to know a biopic about the author is on the way. Nicholas Hoult (About A Boy, X-Men, Mad Max: Fury Road) is playing Tolkien, and now we know the actress who will play Edith Bratt, Tolkien’s love and the inspiration for Lord of the Rings characters such as Luthien and Arwen.

Lily Collins, who starred in the Netflix movies To The Bone and Okja (and is the daughter of singer Phil Collins), will play Bratt. She says on Twitter that she’s been a fan of Tolkien’s work for her entire life and is thus understandably excited to be playing such a big role in the movie, Tolkien.

The story for Tolkien follows the author’s school days before the start of World War I, which he served in from 1916 through 1920 (via Variety). After coming home, he wrote The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings before passing away in 1973, two years after Bratt.

Tolkien thought of Bratt as an Elvish princess, Luthien, giving himself the name Beren. The story is told in Tolkien’s book, Beren and Luthien, and this relationship between an immortal woman and a mortal man is continued in a way in Peter Jackson’s Lord of the Rings movies between Arwen and Aragorn.

When Bratt died, Tolkien had “Luthien” written on her tombstone. After he died, the name “Beren” was added.

The Final Stretch

Game of Thrones‘ Season 7 finale, “The Dragon and the Wolf,” was one of the show’s best episodes yet–despite some issues nagging the season that led up to it. And with Season 7 done, there are only six episodes of Game of Thrones remaining. Let that sink in! It’s crazy!

Luckily there are plenty of questions left for Game of Thrones to answer. We may finally know Jon Snow’s true identity, where the White Walkers came from, and what can bring down the Wall. But Game of Thrones Season 7 left some questions hanging in the air.

Click through the following slides for our best guesses at their answers.

When Did The Starks Start Working Together?

One of the big questions going into Game of Thrones’ Season 7 finale was whether the Stark siblings in Winterfell were secretly working together against Littlefinger. It seemed through most of the season that Bran was sitting alone in the woods, Arya was holding a grudge against Sansa, and Sansa still trusted Littlefinger. Turns out they were really working together by the end, but when did that actually happen?

A deleted scene that likely would have been in the finale actually answered this question: In it, actor Isaac Hempstead-Wright said, Sansa came to Bran’s chambers to ask for his help untangling the whole mess. Instead, it happened off-screen, leaving the question in viewers’ minds.

What Are The Rules Of Bran’s Power?

We still have some questions regarding Bran’s powers on Game of Thrones. In the books, his “Greensight” has so far been mostly limited to looking through the eyes of Weirwood trees, but the show has fewer rules.

Bran seems able to see basically anything that’s ever taken place, somehow, although he does need to know where to look, as we saw in the finale. He has also long been able to “warg” into other creatures and control their bodies, from ravens to Hodor (RIP). But can Bran see the future, beyond brief glimpses and prophecy-like flashes here and there? Can he warg into fully intelligent humans, or even undead creatures? What about a dragon? Hopefully we’ll find out in Game of Thrones Season 8.

Where Is Ghost?

Remember when this scene from the pilot seemed important? We haven’t seen Ghost since Season 6, and even then barely. So just where is Jon Aegon’s direwolf?

Apparently he almost made it into Season 7, Episode 2, “Stormborn,” according to Game of Thrones Co-Executive Producer Bryan Cogman. “FYI… We shot a Jon/Ghost scene. Didn’t make it in. I tried!” he reportedly tweeted (before deleting his Twitter account some time later). “Thx for watching, everybody.”

Ghost was likely a casualty of the massive amount of CGI budget that had to go into the dragons this year, which, yeah. That’s fair. Hopefully we see him again in Season 8.

Can His Name Be Aegon In The Books?

There’s been some debate over whether Jon Snow’s real name, which was revealed in the Season 7 finale to be Aegon Targaryen, can be the same in the Song of Ice and Fire books. The biggest problem is that Jon had a half brother who was also named Aegon–son of Jon’s father, Rhaegar Targaryen, and Elia Martell. (That character, Aegon VI, is more important in the books, but a storyline involving him has apparently been cut from the show.)

The big question is whether Lyanna Stark would have really named her son Aegon when his half brother was already named Aegon. She might have known already that Rhaegar’s son with Elia was dead when she had Jon–the war was over by the time Ned Stark reached her. Aegon being probably the most popular Targaryen name, thanks to Aegon the Conqueror, she might have seen it fitting to keep the name alive, making Jon really Aegon VII.

Or, his real name might be something completely different in the books. Unfortunately, we won’t find out until George R.R. Martin finishes writing one.

What Was The Night King’s Plan Before He Got A Dragon?

One big question throughout the series has been what could possibly bring down the massive, magic Wall dividing Westeros from the frigid lands of the North. That was answered in the Season 7 finale: Fire from an undead dragon.

That was great and dramatic and fun to watch, but what exactly was the Night King’s plan before he killed one of Dany’s dragons and revived it for himself to ride? That’s a fair question, but the answer is likely simple: He was going to storm the Wall and have his re-animated giants open the gates by force. There’s supposedly magic in the Wall preventing them from passing it, but just because people believe that doesn’t make it true.

On the other hand, some fans have speculated that the Night King has his own sight-like abilities. Maybe he knew Dany would bring him a dragon eventually, and that was his plan all along. Hopefully we’ll learn more about the silent antagonist in Game of Thrones Season 8.

Are Tormund And Beric Dead?

The last we saw of everyone’s favorite wildling and his sidekick Beric, they were gawking at the top of the Wall as it came crashing down underneath them. So one of the biggest questions coming out of Game of Thrones Season 7 is whether they survived.

Based on the episode itself, that seems unlikely, since a massive chunk of the Wall disintegrated right where they appeared to be standing. However, we didn’t see them die, so they could still be alive. And HBO’s official episode synopsis states that “Tormund and his wildings rush to safety.” So who knows? We’ll find out in Season 8.

Why Did Tyrion Look So Mad About Jon And Dany?

Since the finale aired, Game of Thrones viewers have speculated about why Tyrion looked so concerned when he witnessed Jon entering Dany’s chambers. The simplest theory is he’s worried their relationship will complicate things. We also know he’s been thinking about Dany’s successor recently, and one theory is that he’s trying to push Dany to establish a democracy in place of the current monarchy. If Dany pops out a full Targ baby, that probably won’t happen.

Then there are actor Peter Dinklage’s own words, in this video from HBO: “It’s dangerous for everybody involved. I’m sure it’s good for both of them in the moment, but you don’t even get the relief of how beautiful it could be or should be. It’s ‘No!’ Just it’s not good. But it should be! But it’s not. It’s Game of Thrones. There’s a long history of romance not ending well on this show.”

We’ll find out if he’s right to be concerned next season.

Who Is The Heir To The Iron Throne?

Perhaps the most important question for Game of Thrones–ever since “Where is Rickon?” got answered, anyway–is who’s the real heir to the Iron Throne? The reveal that Jon is a trueborn Targaryen had some fans declaring him the rightful king, but that’s not necessarily the case, depending how you interpret Westeros’s rules of succession.

It’s important to note the order in which Targaryens died: First Robert Baratheon killed Prince Rhaegar at the Trident, then Jaime Lannister stabbed King Aerys in the throne room, and then Jon was born. Dany came months later, as she was conceived while the rebellion was still happening. So, Jon was born first.

But technically, Viserys (Dany’s douchebag brother from Season 1) had the right to kingship while he was alive, since his older brother, Rhaegar, was already dead when their father, the Mad King, was killed by Jaime Lannister. So when Viserys died, would the throne pass to his younger sister, or to his dead older brother’s son? That’s a question Season 8 will have to address, and until then we can only debate and wonder.

After two years in Early Access, Ark: Survival Evolved finally launched this week across PC and console. To promote the release, the developers teamed up with effects studio Pixomondo, which did some amazing work on shows like Game of Thrones and Furious 7.

The brief teaser trailer shows a man washing up on the shore of a tropical world, greeted by a woman riding a dinosaur. The man quickly learns how unforgiving Ark can be.

Ubisoft has announced a partnership with Monster Energy around Assassin’s Creed: Origins where players can potentially get DLC when they buy one of the energy drinks.

More than 500 million Monster Energy drink cans globally will carry Assassin’s Creed: Origins branding, with the cans starting to show up in stores now. This makes it one of Ubisoft’s “largest retail promotion partnerships” ever.

When you buy one of the drinks, you can redeem a code at this website for a chance to win the following:

In-game resources such as Animal Resources and World Resources

Drachma (in-game currency)

Weapons such as the Dust Biter sword, the Face Breaker long stave, the Scepter of Thaati long scepter, and Rain Bow

If you’re extremely lucky, you could win the First Prize, which is an Assassin’s Creed Origins Xbox One S bundle. Only 100 of these are available. And if you are impossibly lucky, you could win the Grand Prize–an all-expenses paid trip for two to Ubisoft’s studio in Montreal for a tour. Only six Grand Prizes are available, so your odds are really, really bad, but you never know.

The First Prize and Grand Prize are only available for people in the US and Canada. Ubisoft also announced that it’s giving away 150 copies of Assassin’s Creed: Origins for Xbox One in Latin America.

Ubisoft did not share any images of the Assassin’s Creed: Origins Monster cans, but we have reached out to the company to see if we can get some (images, not drinks, or maybe drinks; we’ll see).

To promote Assassin’s Creed: Origins even more, Ubisoft and Monster are hosting “launch events” on 45 college campuses around the US beginning in October. Attendees can win copies of the game, Monster Energy drinks, and “other Assassin’s Creed swag.”

Assassin’s Creed: Origins launches on October 27 for Xbox One, PS4, and PC.

NBA 2K18 is getting a big new mode this year. Called Neighborhoods, it’s essentially a social space where you can hang out with other players, customize your own player, and play some mini-games.

Neighborhoods takes the form of a few city blocks, and scattered throughout are basketball courts where you can challenge others to games. There are also a bunch of vendors, such as barbers and tattoo artists, where you can go to change your character’s appearance. Check out the trailer below.

According to 2K, Neighborhoods acts as the intersection point between three different modes: MyPark, Pro-Am, and MyCareer. You’ll be able to do things to improve your character’s ratings while in Neighborhoods, as well.

With the trade now completed, Kyrie Irving is officially a member of the Boston Celtics. NBA 2K18, which he graces the cover of, has now revealed an in-game look that shows us Irving in a Celtics jersey for the very first time.

As posted by Irving in the Instagram video below, the clip shows a wide view of TD Garden’s court before zooming in to showcase his shoes, jersey, and face. For NBA fans, it’s going to take some time to get used to after Irving spent his first six years in the league on the Cleveland Cavaliers.

The Irving trade was fairly shocking in the NBA world, both because of how much the Celtics gave up for him and because it’s not often we see a player of his caliber traded between the top two teams in a conference. The drama surrounding the trade was only increased when the Cavaliers decided to ask for more from the Celtics after discovering that Isaiah Thomas potentially had a more serious hip injury than previously thought. But that wrinkle has now been addressed, with Irving headed to Boston and Thomas to Cleveland.

The entire situation presented a dilemma for 2K, which will be shipping its game to retailers with Irving in the wrong jersey on its cover. The company responded with a good-natured tweet when the trade was first announced, simply stating, “Whoops,” in response to an earlier tweet with Irving in his Cavs jersey. It has since confirmed that it will offer an updated cover for 2K18 with Irving as a part of his new team, although specific timing for when that will arrive hasn’t been announced.

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Hey everyone, I'm Jonathan but people will know me as Jon... I enjoy hiking and exploring the outside world as well as getting to see fantastic views. It can bring you to the most beautiful places on earth and into contact with amazing plants and wildlife and can be done all year round which is why I enjoy it so much despite it being challenging sometimes due to the weather - it has allowed me to meet a lot of new people and experience things I wouldn't have before. I also find it relaxing and interesting.
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